Demon's Quest (High Demon Series #4)

by Connie Suttle

  "So that's what a High Demon looks like."

  "When they change, but Reah is the only one with gold scales. The only other female who has ever turned is the High Demon Queen—Glindarok. Her Thifilatha is white. The males turn Thifilathi and theirs are larger and all black with short horns. Reah doesn't have horns."

  "Reah is unique." Lok nodded.

  "They can't ever get tattoos," Lendill jerked his head toward Lok's red dragons—it was late and he wasn't wearing a shirt. "The ink burns right off when they change."

  "Their clothing burns off, too, if they're wearing any. Reah didn't have time to undress, obviously," Norian ran the footage forward, showing Reah coming back to herself. She was completely nude. "Lendill knew to take clothing when she sent mindspeech to him."

  "I can't even see the attack, it happens so quickly," Lok muttered.

  "Neither can we. That's how fast they are. Lissa says that the High Demons were made to fight the Ra'Ak and the other creatures that inhabited the Dark Realm. They were designed specifically for that purpose." Norian sighed.

  "I was worried about her earlier—her family from the other restaurant—they came in and upset her." Lok said.

  "Who was it? Did her grandfather come in?" Lendill was seething, suddenly.

  "I believe so—with two others. Her uncles, she said."

  "Calm down, Lendill, you can't bring charges against someone for being a prick," Norian said.

  "Addah Desh would be at the top of the list if I could."

  "That's neither here nor there—we've had a Ra'Ak attack in Tulgalan's capital city. That's unheard of. What are we going to do?" Norian looked at Lok and Lendill.

  * * *

  The reptanoids were gabbling excitedly as we climbed into the reserved snowbus—Teeg had rented one for the day to carry us up the mountain near Campiaa City and back again. Somehow, Teeg had provided several outfits inside the closet he'd set aside for me—all of them ski outfits. Other things were there as well, but I was almost afraid to sort through all of it. Now, we were loading onto a luxury snow bus and driving up the mountain. Unsurprisingly, Teeg and the reptanoids had their own snowboards. Farzi's was black with white stripes, Nenzi's was a bright red. He loves red and wears red shirts often. The others also had their own special colors, ranging from orange to blue. It made me smile to see them so happy.

  "I haven't gotten to do this in ages," Teeg slipped dark glasses over his nose and grinned at me. It was at times like this that I felt Aurelius might be right—that Gavril the boy was somewhere deep inside Teeg the man. Gavril might come out to play now and then.

  "No, you go, I want to see all of you go down first," I said, shooing Farzi toward the edge. They went, in twos and threes, and it was a pleasure to watch them move so expertly. Surely, it had to do with their supple muscles and bone structure. Teeg grinned at me and followed the reptanoids. I, still a bit unsure and with two skis strapped to my feet, went over the edge after them. I shrieked several times, trying to convince my feet to go in the proper direction. Fell twice, too, but didn't hurt myself. When I made it to the bottom, Teeg and the others were laughing and dusting snow off my jumpsuit. We wore ourselves out, broke for lunch at an expensive restaurant, went back out again and stopped before the sun hung too low in the sky.

  "That wonderful," Nenzi sighed, pressing against my right side. The left was leaning against Teeg. Farzi sat across the aisle from us, with the others scattered behind.

  "Have a good time, sweetheart?" Teeg murmured in my ear.

  "Yes. Can we do it again next month?"

  "I'll make sure we have a day," his mouth was warm against my temple, as he nuzzled and kissed his way to my jaw.

  * * *

  Teeg took me out to dinner at the San Gerxon. Guarded by Astralan and Stellan, people whispered as we passed. They were all saying Teeg's name and speculating as to who I might be. Teeg heard every word—he had vampire hearing, after all. He smiled over most of it and put his hand on the back of my neck—there'd been a beautiful dress and a hairdresser waiting when we arrived at the palace. Now, dressed formally and my hair piled on my head, we walked toward the best restaurant in the San Gerxon.

  Almost the moment we were seated at a private table, Kiasz was out of the kitchen and in raptures, hugging me carefully so as not to ruin my outfit. The dress was a spring green, almost the color of my eyes and Teeg had likely paid a fortune for it. My Tiralian crystal ring came out of a jewelry box I hadn't recognized and Teeg placed it on my finger before we left the palace. No wonder everybody was whispering. I think a few unauthorized photographs were taken as well.

  "Tell me what you want to eat and it will appear," Kiasz was still grinning.

  "Right now, I'm so hungry I could eat a moose," I said. "We went skiing today."

  "A steak then? Prime rib? Seafood?" Kiasz was ticking down a mental list.

  "What do you want, honey?" I looked at Teeg. He drew in a sharp breath for a moment, then gave me a lazy smile, his eyes half-closing in pleasure.

  "Prime rib," he replied.

  "There. We'll have prime rib," I said. "And can I get some of those sliced potatoes with Vharis cheese crusted over them?" I gestured with my hands.

  "Lady, I think you can get anything you want." Kiasz cut his eyes toward Teeg, bowed smartly and went toward the kitchen.

  "Reah, I feel like the luckiest person alive right now," Teeg said, sipping the wine Kiasz sent out. The vintage was good. A bottle of a darker red would come with the meal, but this was good with the plates of appetizers we'd been served. Kiasz was choosing everything except the main course and the potatoes for us.

  "Going to get me drunk and then have your way with me?" I snuggled into his arms.

  "Sweetheart, that is the finest thing imaginable."

  * * *

  "Sometimes, one of ours surprises us," Ferrigar, Head of the Larentii Council sat at Kiarra's kitchen island. He, Pheligar, Renegar and Lenigar had come, setting a chunk of Ra'Ak dust on the granite surface. Kiarra, with her mates Adam and Merrill, all Enforcers for the Saa Thalarr, stared at the chunk. They were more than familiar with what Ra'Ak dust looked like.

  "Which one, and how did he surprise you?" Kiarra asked. Pheligar, also her mate and Archivist for the Saa Thalarr, took up the explanation.

  "You have never met Nefrigar. He is our chief librarian, you might say. He guards the Larentii Archives with the help of six Larentii—the equivalent of Protectors for the Wise Ones."

  "I've heard of the Archives, but I thought that was where all information gathered by Larentii went to die," Kiarra sat beside Pheligar and patted his back—she was teasing him.

  "It does not do that," Ferrigar said, holding back a rare smile. "In fact, Nefrigar usually absorbs what is sent. If the Archives were lost, Nefrigar could reconstruct most of it from memory."

  "Wow. A living Archive." Kiarra leaned her cheek against Pheligar's arm. He pulled her against him—he liked having his mate close.

  "Nefrigar is my older brother," Pheligar smiled down at Kiarra.

  "What?" she sputtered, staring at him in surprise. "After all this time, you're only now telling me you have a brother?"

  "Nefrigar is much older than I," Pheligar said haughtily, before smiling at Kiarra. "He and I only speak now and then, and usually it is mindspeech. We are busy with our own concerns, Lara'Kayan. Each of us can contact the other easily if there is need."

  "Unbelievable," Kiarra rubbed her forehead.

  "I would have told you if you'd asked," Pheligar kissed the top of her head gently. "You didn't ask."

  "But what does that have to do with this?" Merrill tapped the granite island where the Ra'Ak chunk sat, bringing everyone back to the relevant topic.

  "We have Ra'Ak dust in the Archives," Ferrigar replied. "Pheligar supplied some of it, from his earliest days with the Saa Thalarr. When Nefrigar compared some of those chunks with the one taken from Tulgalan two days ago, he found—discrepancies."

  "Discrepancies? I
don't follow," Kiarra said.

  "We find it puzzling as well. Nefrigar brought this to our attention and at first, we thought it irrelevant. Now, we are not sure that was the correct conclusion."

  "What did he find?" Adam asked. Normally he was content to listen and observe, but even his curiosity was roused.

  "This," Ferrigar Pulled in what appeared to be an identical chunk of Ra'Ak dust, "was collected ten turns ago, from another Ra'Ak dusting. This Ra'Ak would be considered normal—healthy." He set it down beside the other chunk. "This one from Tulgalan," Ferrigar hesitated a moment, "to the best of our knowledge, we have determined it to be diseased."

  "Diseased? That's next to impossible," Kiarra said, trying to stand. Pheligar pulled her onto his lap and rubbed her shoulders.

  "We have gathered additional information, at Nefrigar's insistence. Even the Wise Ones are in agreement. The Ra'Ak who still live, who have been consuming these young ones after they have been subjected to what the Karathians refer to as a soul-shift?"

  "What about them." Kiarra asked.

  "We have determined that they are, in your own words, mentally ill."

  "You're saying that eating children that have gone through a soul-shift makes the Ra'Ak crazy?" Kiarra managed to struggle out of Pheligar's lap.

  "Yes. Somehow, this forbidden spell work—a misuse of power, as it is, would destroy the child's mind, if their body did not die so quickly. By consuming this tainted flesh, the Ra'Ak despoils its mental capacity."

  "Holy crap," Kiarra muttered. "What are we supposed to do?"

  "We believe that this is the reason the Ra'Ak attempted an attack on a passenger bus. This one did not bother to jam the camera signal. If Reah had not killed the creature, and had Norian not confiscated the vid images afterward, Tulgalan's population would even now be screaming and running for every available exit."

  "This isn't good. Honey, have you contacted Belen?" Kiarra looked up at Pheligar.

  "Yes. He is very concerned, and he and the others of his kind are attempting to come to an agreement regarding appropriate action," Pheligar sighed. "He will let us know soon."

  "How did Nefrigar know to pick up this chunk?" Merrill asked.

  "We do not question the Archivist—he searches for his own data upon occasion. We as a race are often enriched with his findings. He is not bound by the Archives, or restricted by the Council where knowledge is concerned, as long as the laws are followed."

  "So, you don't lock him up in a dusty library?" Kiarra's dimple showed.

  "Our Archives are pristine," Pheligar pulled Kiarra onto his lap again. "Nefrigar sees to that, with his Protectors. He is nearly as old as Ferrigar, you know."

  * * *

  "Reah, wake up, sweetheart."

  How did my men always wake before me? How? I opened my eyes to find Teeg's concerned face over mine. "What's wrong?" I asked, right away.

  "Several things, but you need to get up and get dressed, love. Some of the news can wait a little."

  Farzi and Nenzi came to help me in the shower. I was glad—my fingers shook and I was having trouble holding onto a washcloth. Something was wrong, and that frightened me. I was ushered into Teeg's private study—he was already there with all four warlocks and a man I'd never seen before.

  "Reah, this is Dee—Dormas, my assistant." Teeg introduced the man I'd heard of but never met. He took my hand and kissed it gently. I nodded to him. Dee had brown hair, gray eyes and an unlined face that still bore the weight of the world in it. He'd seen a lot of life, this one.

  "Reah, last night, someone died on Tulgalan." Teeg pushed a comp-vid across the desk toward me. I sat on one of his guest chairs and lifted the device in my hands, terrified, somehow. I was relieved at some level, horrified on another. Relieved that it wasn't Lok or Edan or Ilvan. Horrified at whom it actually was. Addah Desh, my grandfather, had died from multiple stab wounds. Fes, who'd been with him, was in critical condition at a hospital. I watched the vid as Aldah and Rane, Fes' brothers, stood by their weeping mother as she'd been interviewed. Some of the other wives and sons were in the background.

  The whole thing would have been bad enough, but what came next was worse. Aldah stepped forward after his mother stopped speaking, saying that I'd had a fight with Addah and was likely the one who'd attacked him. My eyes flew wide and I was staring at Teeg across the desk.

  "We're already on this—we have vid and photographs of you with me at the same time the attack was taking place, and Norian and Lendill are handing the information over to the local constabulary. I don't know what the fuck is going on, Reah, or why that idiot is blaming you for this." Teeg was angry—his eyes were tinged with red, and for a vampire, than meant he was furious.

  "I don't believe this," I muttered. "How is Fes doing?"

  "As well as can be expected. We don't know yet whether he'll live or not."

  "This is awful, but what could they possibly believe I'd gain from all this? I'll have to contact Wroth—see if he's got the vid from the restaurant on Eight-Day."

  "We have audio and the vid," Dee offered, "and that has also been turned over to the locals."

  "And they know you were on the bus the other night," Teeg went on. "Norian turned that information over to them, and since you're ex-ASD, Norian handed your report over, too."

  "I didn't turn in a report."

  "Norian and Lendill turned in an official report, Reah. Do you want your Thifilatha splashed all over the news?"

  "Fuck," I muttered softly. Too much had happened in the past two days. Where was my mind?

  "Dee has forwarded a copy of our marriage contract to the Tulgalanian authorities as well, so there won't be any wild rumors. If Aldah Desh wants a war, he can have one." Teeg was growling.

  "I need to get back." I was stunned and not really sure what to do.

  "If you go back, you'll likely be followed. At least until the media sinks their teeth into someone else."

  "Teeg, I don't want that."

  "Sweetheart, I know that. Lendill and I found a house for you on the west side. We'll move you into that, and we'll place enough guards there that you won't have to worry about those things."

  "But what about the investigation?"

  "We may be able to get someone to either change your appearance or work up a disguise," Teeg offered. "I know this is important to you, so I won't try to keep you in the house. You just have to realize that the media, if they learn who you are, are going to follow you to the ends of the Alliance and back."

  "I don't believe this." My head hurt now, and I'd had more than my share of headaches, lately.

  "If it gets to be too much, baby, go to Le-Ath Veronis. Nobody will bother you there."

  "All right." I nodded my acceptance. What would this do to my job? The reporters would be camped outside the restaurant, waiting for me to come to work next Eight-Day.

  Teeg was right—news crews had hover-vans parked up and down the street outside the Crown Apartments and outside the house that he and Lendill had purchased in my name. Reporters were shoved aside by Astralan, Stellan, Galaxsan and Celestan. Farzi and Nenzi had come with me, and I thought Nenzi was going to hiss at some of the people who were shouting at me, asking if I'd killed my grandfather. It was horrible. As soon as we made it inside, I looked at Teeg. "Arrange for transport to Le-Ath Veronis," I said, defeat in my voice. He nodded and pulled out his comp-vid.

  Farzi, Nenzi, Lok, Corolan and Tory were with me when I boarded the ship to leave Tulgalan. Listlessly I watched the vids of myself entering the ship station. They had nothing to hold me on—Addah and Fes had been attacked outside Addah's enormous estate. Sixteen of his sons lived there, in addition to all five of his remaining wives. Marzi was still incarcerated, and Addah had divorced her anyway. Truthfully, I didn't even know where Addah lived now. I remembered the old house—I had vague memories of it.

  So far, too, no weapon had been found. The story went that Addah, Aldah and Fes had stayed late at the restaurant, going over the
books for the end of month expenses. They'd been driven home by Landor, Addah's third wife Teena's first son. He had no skill in the kitchen so he worked as Addah's driver. Mostly he drove the wives around. Rane, Farla's third son behind Fes and Aldah, kept the books for Addah. Landor drove Addah, Aldah and Fes home, dropping them off at the front gate while he drove around back where the garage was. It was a shorter walk to the door from the front gate. Aldah said he'd gone inside the house while Fes and Addah talked by the front gate. They'd been attacked after that. Landor said he hadn't seen anything or anyone when he dropped his father and brothers off. No DNA evidence was found either, other than that of the family.

  I watched as they played the vid from Dee's over and over again—all of Tulgalan got to see the entire conversation, start to finish. Once again, I experienced Aldah's and Addah's slights. Fes had been the most civil of all of them.

  "Baby, don't let them get to you." Tory held me tightly against him inside our private compartment. Teeg and Lendill agreed that folding or skipping away from Tulgalan right then would be a mistake. It would only feed the blaze for those who thought me guilty, even without a bit of evidence to back it up.

  Lissa, Gavin, Drake and Drew were waiting for us when we arrived at the space station on Le-Ath Veronis. Lissa hugged me the moment I walked through the doors.

  "Don't let them hurt you," she said softly. It was too late for that, but I appreciated her words anyway. "There are a few reporters in Casino City, but we're going past that. They're not allowed anywhere near the palace right now."

  "Thank you." I sighed heavily. Dee said he'd contact Wroth for me. I'd agreed to let him handle things. At least I'd get to see Radolf and cook with him.

  "Reah, Norian and I have moved into our offices here," Lendill met me inside the private residence wing of Lissa's palace. His and Norian's offices were on the edges of that wing.

  "Lendill." I was in his arms and sobbing.

  "Don't, Deah-mul," Lendill lifted me off the floor and with Lok, Tory, Farzi, Nenzi and Corolan following along behind, he carried me to Aurelius' old suite.